Further reading
4. Morphology and some morphosyntactic topics
4.1. Nouns
Both OA and IA have lost a productive system of case endings (ATTM 1: 79–81). Nouns, both substantives and adjectives, are formally marked (Table 1) for gender (masculine and feminine), number (singular, plural, and dual), and state (absolute, construct, and emphatic/determinate state).
The emphatic or determinate state expresses the definiteness of the noun.
OA and IA share the same formal characteristics. However, whereas in OA ʾ is still a genuine consonant and -ʾ in the emphatic state end-ing represents /-aʾ/, this is certainly not the case in IA, where the sub-standard spellings -h and -yh (masc.emph.), -th (fem.emph.), and -ʾ (fem.
sg.abs.) demonstrate that -ʾ had lost its consonantal value and represents /-ā/. Further remarks:
Masc.sg.abs.: The gentilic is expressed by the ending -y /-ay/ and is identi-cal to the ending of ordinal numbers.
Masc.sg.emph.: In BA, the ending -yʾ /-ayā/ of the gentilic is often required to be read (so-called qəre) as -ʾh, vocalized -aʾā.
Fem.sg.abs.: Sometimes in IA the spelling -ʾ is used instead of the more fre-quent -h. Alternatively, the archaic ending t /-at/ is found in IA (GEA 65; ATTM 1: 444). In some of these instances the latter indicates the adverbial function of the noun (e.g. rḥmt /raḥmat/ ‘affectionately’ in TAD B2 4:7; cf. brḥmh /baraḥmā/ ‘with affection’ in TAD B2 2:14; see
Table 1. Aramaic nominal inflection
Sg. Pl.
masc. abs. -ø -n /-īn/
cst. -ø -y /-ay/
emph. -ʾ /-ā/ -yʾ /-ayyā/
fem. abs. -h /-ā/ -n /-ān/
cst. -t /-at/ -t /-āt/
emph. -tʾ /-tā/ -tʾ /-ātā/
Hoftijzer and Jongeling 1995, 2: 1071). The high frequency of -t in HP alongside spellings with -h is striking (e.g. tqbh and tqbt, the etymology of which is unclear), but it certainly cannot be explained as a survival of the old system of case endings (ALAP 252–257). The same alterna-tion of -h and -t is found in HP in the infinitive of the derived conjuga-tions (lmtyh /lamētāyā/ and lmytyt /lamētāyat/, both Afʿel infinitives ofʾty ‘to come’) and the fem.sg. predicative participle in periphrastic constructions (e.g. yhbt in hwy yhbt /hwī yāhibat/ ‘give’ imv.).
Fem.sg.emph.: In BA, the t is normally punctuated with the dagesh lene; in some instances, omission of the dagesh lene indicates spirantization.
Masc.pl.abs.: Plene spellings of /-īn/ are relatively infrequent in IA, just as in OA. Sometimes, however, they do occur even in OA (e.g. ʾlhyn /ʾelāhīn/ ‘gods’ in the Tell Fekheriye inscription, KAI 309:4). The y represents a consonant in the gentilic ending -yn (ḥlkyn ‘Cilicians’);
in BA, the qəre, the prescribed reading, often requires the reading -ʾyn /-āʾ īn/. Sometimes this is also found in the kətiv, the transmitted text.
Masc.pl.cst.: It is uncertain whether the diphthong was contracted or not (Section 3.2d).
Masc.pl.emph.: It remains uncertain whether IA testifies to the later East-ern Aramaic ending /-ē/ (cf. GEA 39 n. 186, on ʿmmʾ ‘peoples’ in the Aḥiqar proverbs, TAD C1 1:94, 162). The gentilic has the ending -yʾ /āyē/ (< */ayayyā/), which in BA often has the qəre -ʾy /-āʾē/.
Du.abs.: The dual ending can only be established with certainty for the absolute form (in the construct and emphatic the ending coincides with the ending of the masculine plural): -yn /ayn/ (e.g. ydyn /ya-dayn/ ‘two hands’). The ending cannot be distinguished from the plene form -yn /-īn/.
Many noun formations can be established for OA and IA (Leander 1928: 68–89). There is no evidence that in OA and IA an auxiliary vowel was inserted into the singular of the original monosyllabic nouns *qaṭl,
*qiṭl, *quṭl (the later nomina segolata). In the plural these nouns are char-acterized by /a/ between the second and third root consonants: /qaṭalīn/, /qeṭalīn/, /qoṭalīn/. In BA, the singular of these nouns is frequently based on the vocalization of these nouns in Hebrew (e.g. mlk mεlεḵ ‘king’, ṣlm ṣεlεm
‘statue’), but the later Aramaic forms with their characteristic bisyllabic structure are attested as well (e.g. ṭʿm ṭəʿem ‘understanding’, ksp kəsap̄ ‘sil-ver’). These forms display the characteristic reduction of the stem vowel (ə).
Many nouns in IA exhibit morphological peculiarities. Only a few of these can be mentioned here (for further detail see GEA 72–75): masculine nouns with the formal features of the feminine plural (sg. /šem/ ‘name’, pl. šmhn /šemahān/ [šmht]); feminine nouns without the formal features
of feminine singular nouns (ʾm /ʾemm/ ‘mother’; yd /yad/ ‘hand’, du.
ydyn /yadayn/; ʾrʿ /ʾarʿ/ ‘land’; ktn /kettān/ ‘garment’); feminine nouns without the formal characteristic of the feminine plural ending (mln /mellīn/, sg.abs. mlh /mellā/ ‘word’, pl.cst. mly, pl.emph. mlyʾ; šnn /šanīn/, sg.abs. šnh /šanā/ ‘year’); nouns with singular and plural based on dif-ferent roots (sg. ʾnth /ʾettā/ ‘wife’, pl. nš(y)n /nešīn/; sg. br /bar/ ‘son’, pl.
bnn /banīn/; sg. brh /barā/ ‘daughter’, pl. bnn /banān/). Some nouns have a plural extended with -h- (sg. ʾb /ʾab/ ‘father’, pl. ʾbhn /ʾabahīn/; BA -ān).
The form by /bay/ ‘house’ is irregularly formed (sg.cst. byt /bayt/, emph.
bytʾ /baytā/; pl.emph. btyʾ /bātayyā/).
Two or more nouns can be combined in the construct noun phrase.
The principal function of this construction is to indicate possessive rela-tionships: byt ʾlhʾ ‘the house of God’. The particle zy (see Section 4.5) can be used for this purpose instead: bytʾ zy ʾlhʾ. A proleptic pronominal suf-fix is particularly frequent in possessive relationships that indicate inal-ienable possession (e.g. kinship relations). In such instances, it is attached to the first noun (ʾḥwhy zy yhwḥnn ‘the brother of Y.’; cf. ALAP 259ff.).
4.2. Personal pronouns The personal pronouns are shown in Table 2.
2masc.sg.: OAʾt without n. Similarly in Nerab (KAI 225–226). In OA and IA always spelled without -h. This might be a defective spelling of unstressed /-ā/ (ATTM 1: 123, 423; Cook 1990: 63f.), in which case some fluctuation in the spelling would be expected. Only in BA (kətiv) and in QA are plene spellings with -h attested (see GEA 43f.).
Table 2. Aramaic independent personal pronouns
OA IA
sg. 1 ‘I’ ʾnh ʾnh /ʾanā/
2masc. ‘you’ ʾt ʾnt /ʾáttā/
2fem. ‘you’ — ʾnty /ʾáttī/
3masc. ‘he’ hʾ hw /hū/
3fem. ‘she’ hʾ hy /hī/
pl. 1 ‘we’ — ʾnḥn(h) /ʾanáḥnā/
2masc. ‘you’ — ʾntm /ʾattom/
2fem. ‘you’ — —
3masc. ‘they’ hmw
hm hmw
hm /hómū/
/hóm/
3fem. ‘they’ — —
2fem.sg.: The frequent spelling ʾnt in IA may be a defective spelling of unstressed /-ī/ (ALAP 161–168).
3masc.sg.: OA hʾ /huʾ/ (< */huʾa/) and IA hw /hū/ (on the development of this pronoun see GEA 31). The spelling hwʾ in BA may be influenced by Biblical Hebrew (GEA 43, n 205).
3fem.sg.: OA hʾ /hiʾ/ (< */hiʾa/) and IA hy /hī/ (on this development see GEA 3). BA hyʾ may be influenced by Biblical Hebrew (GEA 43 n. 205).
1pl.: The OA and IA spellings ʾnḥn probably reflect a defective spelling of unstressed /-ā/ (see Section 2). The frequency of the plene spelling ʾnḥnh increases in the course of the 5th. c. bce (ALAP 152–154).
2masc.pl.: BA has ʾntwn ʾantūn.
3masc.pl.: OA hm and [h]mw (KAI 202 A 9). In addition to hmw, hm is at-tested twice in IA (direct object) (GEA 45). hmw may have been real-ized as /hómū/ (see ATTM 1: 423). BA has hmw hemmō and hmwn hemmōn (the latter in Daniel), with vowel dissimilation, similar to the later form ʾnwn ʾennūn (ATTM 1: 562f.). The older forms hmw and hmwn are always used as direct object (the only exception is Ezra 5:11; hmw functions here as a copula).
2fem.pl. and 3fem.pl.: These forms are not attested in OA and IA. BA has the 3fem.pl. form ʾnyn ʾennīn (see ATTM 1: 149).
The independent personal pronouns usually indicate the subject of the clause. In combination with a finite verb (which by itself contains the identification of the subject), these pronouns usually indicate contrast with another person. The 3masc.pl. hmw is also used for the direct object (instead of a verb with direct object pronominal suffix). In IA, the form hm is sometimes used. Instances of a finite verb with a 3masc.pl. direct object pronominal suffix are rare. The infinitive, on the other hand, is always combined with a 3masc.pl. direct object pronominal suffix (GEA 151–152).
4.3. Possessive pronouns
The possessive pronouns are combined with the construct form of the noun (Table 3). The diphthong */ay/ of the masculine plural may have contracted to /-ē/ in IA (Section 3.2d and ALAP 182–184). A reconstruc-tion of the linking vowel is found in ATTM 1: 449. This vowel joins the pronoun to a singular noun ending with a consonant. The nature of this vowel is uncertain.
2masc.sg.: According to Beyer this is a defective spelling of unstressed /-ā/ (ATTM 1: 449, 451).
2fem.sg.: In IA sometimes written -k, possibly a defective spelling of unstressed /-ī/ (ALAP 161–168).
3masc.sg.: With masculine plural nouns, the spelling is -wh in OA; in IA -wh is sometimes found in addition to -why. -wh may be a defective spelling of unstressed /-ī/ (ALAP 169–172; Cook 1990: 56–59). There is no certain evidence for contraction of the diphthong /aw/ > /ō/ in this morpheme before the fourth century bce (ALAP 188). The pro-nominal suffix /-hī/ is also found after other long vowels, such as following /ū/ in the construct singular of the nouns ʾḥ /ʾaḥ/ ‘brother’
and ʾb /ʾab/ ‘father’, thus ʾḥwh(y) /ʾaḥūhī/ ‘his brother’, ʾbwhy /ʾabūhī/
‘his father’.
3fem.sg.: The pronunciation of this pronominal suffix is uncertain. The form /-hā/ was probably only used after a diphthong or a long vowel.
In other positions, only /-ah/ was used. On the basis of the spelling -hh in ʾḥthh /ʾaḥathā/ ‘his sister’ in one of the Hermopolis letters (TAD A2 7:4), instead of expected ʾḥth /ʾaḥatah/, Beyer concludes that the pro-nominal suffix was /-hā/ (see ATTM 1: 449, 451), but this remains un-certain (ALAP 237–241; cf. Cook 1990: 55). The BA kətiv -yh (qəre /-ah/), the same form as the pronominal suffix -h with masculine singular nouns and feminine nouns, probably reflects the Late Aramaic form.
In QA, on the other hand, both -h and -hʾ are used in all positions.
1pl.: Probably a defective spelling of unstressed /-ā/ (see Section 2 above);
in addition the plene spelling -nʾ is also found (thus in BA).
2masc.pl.: In addition, there is also -k(w)n in IA (with -n instead of -m);
always -kn in HP. In BA -km and -kwn are found.
Table 3. Aramaic pronominal suffixes
On sg. or fem.pl. nouns On masc.pl. nouns
OA IA OA IA
sg. 1 -y -y /-ī/ -y -y /-ayy/
2masc. -k -k /-ákā/ -yk -yk /-áy-kā/
2fem. — -ky /-ékī/ — -yky /-áy-kī/
3masc. -h -h /-eh/ -wh -why /-áw-hī/
3fem. -h -h /-ah/ -yh -yh /-áy-hā/
pl. 1 -n -n /-ánā/ — -yn /-áy-nā/
2masc. -km -km /-okūm/ -ykm -ykm /-ay-kūm/
2fem. — -kn /-ekenn/ — -ykn /-ay-kenn/
3masc. -hm -hm /-ohūm/ -yhm -yhm /-ay-hūm/
3fem. -hn -hn /-ehenn/ — — (/-ay-henn/)
3masc.pl.: In addition, the spellings -hwm and -h(w)n are found in IA (with -n instead of -m); in HP always -hn. BA has both -hm and -hwn (however -hwm in Jer 10:11).
3fem.pl.: The evidence for IA is uncertain.
In addition to a noun with a possessive pronominal suffix, IA also has a noun combined with zyl- (< zy l) and suffix, e.g. bytʾ zyly /baytā dīlī/ ‘my house’. This construction is related to the genitive construc-tion with zy and is principally used to indicate inalienable possession (see ALAP 259–312). In OA, the independent possessive pronoun zyl- is not attested.
All these pronominal suffixes can be used in combination with verbs to indicate a pronominal object; for the 1sg., -ny /-nī/ is found instead of -y.
4.4. Demonstrative pronouns The demonstrative pronouns are shown in Table 4.
In OA, */ð/ is always spelled with z. In IA, the spelling z predominates.
Sometimes, however, the later spelling d can be found: dnh (masc.sg.), dh (fem.sg.), dk (masc.sg.), etc. (ALAP 49–56). These spellings establish the pronunciation /d/ for IA, as against /ð/ for OA (see Section 3.2a).
‘this’: In IA, the masculine singular form is normally written with -h (once znʾ and once zn). OA (znh) and BA (dnh) also have the spelling -h. Beyer postulates a pronunciation /dénā/ for znh (ATTM 1: 555), which can explain Middle Aramaic dn /den/ as apocopation of an
Table 4. Aramaic demonstrative pronouns
OA IA
‘this’
masc.sg. znh znh /denā/
fem.sg. zʾ zʾ /dā/
pl. ʾl, ʾln ʾlh /ʾellε̄/
‘that’
masc.sg. — zk /dek/
fem.sg. — zk /dāk/
pl. — ʾlk /ʾellēk/
unstressed long vowel (see Cook 1990: 64). The OA plural form ʾl can be explained as a defective spelling (in place of ʾlh). In addition, OA has a form ʾln (with a deictic element -n). BA has ʾlh, ʾl (one instance), and ʾlyn. The element -n in OA ʾln /ʾellε̄n/ probably has a source other than -n in BA ʾlyn (see also Cook 1990: 64).
‘that’: The third person personal pronouns are also used in OA and IA (and BA) for far deixis. In addition, IA has some rare and difficult variant forms. In part, they can be explained as idiosyncrasies: znk (masc.sg.) is only found in texts of a single scribe (TAD B2 3, 4). It may be explained as a mixed form, a combination of znh and zk. The singulars zky and dky, in most cases used as a feminine, can be ex-plained as relics from an earlier period; alternatively, -y /-ī/ can be explained as a secondary development, by analogy with the 2fem.
sg. pronominal suffix. The ending -ʾ /-ā/ in dkʾ may derive from the feminine singular ending -ʾ /-ā/. The forms zkm/dkm ‘that’ (IA; masc.
sg.) and dkn dekkēn ‘that’ (BA; masc. and fem.sg.) are certainly con-nected with the pronouns zk and dk, notwithstanding that their pre-cise interpretation remains unclear (2pl. pronominal suffix -km/-kn or deictic -n?). The plural form is sometimes written ʾlky.
In attributive phrases, the modifying element in general follows the modified noun and agrees with the noun in number, gender, and state.
Sometimes demonstrative pronouns precede the modified noun. Most cases involve time adverbs (ALAP 325ff.): ʿd znh ywmʾ ‘until today’ (as opposed to bytʾ znh ‘this house’).
4.5. Other pronouns
The OA relative particle is zy /ðī/. In IA zy is pronounced /dī/. This is evidenced by the rare spelling dy in IA (see Section 3.2a). The interroga-tive particles in OA and IA are mn /man/ ‘who?’ and mh /mā/ ‘what?’. IA has an indefinite pronoun mndʿm /mandaʿm/ (the n is not etymological), sometimes spelled mdʿm /maddaʿm/.
4.6. Numerals
Cardinal numbers are often indicated with strokes in IA. As a conse-quence cardinal number words (Table 5) are relatively rare in IA.
Only a brief outline of the complex counting system in IA can be given here (for details, see GEA 87ff.). The numbers 3–10 end with -h (cst. -t) when masculine nouns are counted; the form without the ending -h is
used when feminine nouns are counted. The numbers 11–19 are com-posed of ʿšrh + w + a number between 1 and 9 when masculine nouns are counted (e.g.ʿšr wtryn /ʿaśarā waterayn/ ‘twelve’). There are no exam-ples for feminine nouns. In OA and BA, on the other hand, the construct noun phrase is used in these instances and the first term of this phrase is a number between 1 and 9, e.g. BA try ʿšr /tərē ʿaśar/ ‘twelve’ (see Lean-der 1928: 116; GEA 90). The numbers 30–90 are based on the numbers 3–9 and have the masculine plural ending -n /-īn/, e.g. tltyn /talātīn/ ‘thirty’, šbʿn /šabʿīn/ ‘seventy’. The number ʿšrn /ʿaśarīn/ ‘twenty’ is based on the number ʿšr ‘ten’, but originally this form was a dual (literally ‘twice ten’).
Other frequent numbers are mʾh /meʾā/ ‘hundred’, mʾtyn /meʾtayn/ ‘two hundred’ (du.), and ʾlp /ʾalp/ ‘thousand’. Many compound cardinals above 20 are constructed by coordinating cardinals in descending order, often with the coordinator wa, as in 25 = ʿšrn wḥmšh /ʿaśarīn waḥamešā/
‘twenty and five’. The form of the units 3–10 in these compounds is de-fined by the gender of the counted noun, just as described above. Both the construct noun phrase (bšnt x /bašanat x/ ‘in the year x’) and the appositive (šql ḥd /teql ḥad/ ‘one shekel’) can be used.
Aramaic has ordinal numbers for 1–10. In IA, these numbers are very rare, but in BA they are more frequent. The ordinal number qdmy qadmāy
‘first’ derives from a root different from that of the cardinal number 1 and is characterized by the endings /-āy/ (masc.sg.) and /-āyā/ (fem.sg.) (for nominal endings, see Section 3.1). The ordinal numbers 3–10 also have the ending /-āy/ etc. These numbers are based on the nominal pat-tern qaṭīl and the root of the cardinal numbers 3–10 (e.g. ʿšyry ʿaśīrāy
‘tenth’). The ordinal number ‘second’ has a formation of its own: masc.
sg. tnyn tenyān.
Table 5. Aramaic cardinal numbersa
With masculine nouns With feminine nouns
1 ḥd /ḥad/ ḥdh /ḥadā/
2 tryn /terayn/ trtyn /tertayn/
3 tlth /talātā/ tlt /talāt/
4 ʾrbʿh /ʾarbaʿā/ ʾrbʿ /ʾarbaʿ/
5 ḥmšh /ḥamešā/ (ḥmš) (/ḥameš/)
6 šth /šettā/ (št) (/šett/)
7 šbʿh /šabʿā/ šbʿ /šabʿ/
8 tmnyh /tamāniyā/ (tmnh) (/tamānε̄/)
9 (tšʿh) (/tešʿā/) (tšʿ) (/tešʿ/)
10 ʿšrh /ʿaśarā/ (ʿšr) (/ʿaśr/)
aThose unattested in IA are in parentheses.
4.7. Particles
The most frequent IA prepositions are: ʾḥr /ʾaḥar/ ‘after’; ʾḥry /ʾaḥaray/
‘after, following’; ʾl /ʾel/ ‘to’; b- /ba/ ‘in’; byn /bayn/ ‘between, in’; ḥlp /ḥalp/ ‘instead of’; k- /ka/ ‘as’; kwt /kawāt/ ‘according to’; l- /la/ ‘to, for’;
lhn /lāhen/ ‘except’ (< lʾ hn ‘not if’); mn /men/ ‘from’; ʿd /ʿad/ ‘until’; ʿl /ʿal/ ‘on, to, concerning, against’; ʿlwy /ʿelāway/ ‘on’; ʿm /ʿem/ ‘with’; qbl /qobl/ ‘according to’; qdm /qodām/ ‘in front of’; qdmt /qadmat/ ‘before’; tḥt /teḥōt/ ‘under’. In addition to these simple forms, there are compound forms. Some examples: lqbl /laqobl/ ‘in front of’; br mn /bar men/ ‘except’;
mnʿl /menʿal/ ‘on top of’; mn qdm /men qodām/ ‘from in front of’, etc.
New prepositions developed from the close combination of nouns and prepositions, e.g. byd /bayad/ ‘in the hand of’ > ‘through’ and ʿl pm /ʿal pom/ ‘according to the mouth of’ > ‘according to’. In IA, the preposition ʾl has only survived in the address of letters (see ALAP 621–629). All other functions of ʾl were taken over by the preposition ʿl. In OA, on the other hand, ʾl is the normal preposition to indicate direction. The prepo-sitions b, l, and k are proclitics. In addition, l indicates the direct object in IA and BA, especially if the direct object is both definite and animate (ALAP 340–371). The /n/ in the preposition mn does not assimilate to a following consonant in OA and IA. All the prepositions can be combined with a pronominal suffix. The prepositions with a consonantal ending are combined with the called “singular” pronominal suffixes. The so-called “plural” pronominal suffixes are used in all other instances.
The most common adverbs are: ʾd(y)n /ʾedēn/ ‘then’; ʾp /ʾap/ ‘also’;
bgw /bagaww/ ‘in the middle of’; kʿn /kaʿan/ ‘now’ (and the related forms kʿt, kʿnt); mḥr /maḥar/ ‘tomorrow’; tmh /tammā/ ‘there’; tnh /tanā/ ‘here’;
twb /tūb/ ‘moreover, still’. Also, adjectives can be used as adverbs. The most frequent example of this is šgyʾ /śaggī/ ‘very’.
The most important conjunctions are: ʾw /ʾaw/ ‘or’; w /wa/ ‘and’; hn /hen/ ‘if’ (hn lʾ /hen lā/ ‘if not’; > hlh /hellā/ in TAD A2 2:10); zy /dī/ ‘that’
(at the head of an object clause; sometimes written dy); kzy (occasion-ally written kdy) /kadī/ ‘when’; ky /kī/ ‘because’. Often combinations of prepositions and zy result in new conjunctions: mn zy /men dī/ ‘since’; ʿd zy /ʿad dī/ ‘until’.
Remaining particles: lm may introduce direct speech; it is normally found at the beginning of the quoted utterance or in second position (ALAP 265 n. 24). The particle of existence is ʾyty /ʾītay/ (sometimes ʾyt)
‘there is’ (once in the guise of yt in an early 5th c. text; see ALAP 218). ʾyty is negated by lʾ /lā/ (lʾ ʾyt(y)); sometimes > lʾyt(y)). This particle can also be combined with a pronominal suffix, as in the following example from BA: ʾytwhy ʾītōhī ‘he is not’. There are two negations, lʾ /lā/ (in HP also
lh) and ʾl /ʾal/. The main function of lʾ is to negate declarative clauses.
Other functions are the negation of the nominal clause and the negation of a following word. The negative particle ʾl is used to negate imperfect forms with a volitive meaning (sometimes lʾ is used instead of ʾl).
4.8. Verbs
In the following, the focus is on the morphology of the IA verb. The functions of the IA verb are described at length by Gzella (2004), who also takes the situation in OA into account. The IA “imperfect” (or “prefix conjugation”) assumes the forms shown in Table 6.
2masc.pl.: Always in the defective spelling in OA; in IA also plene -wn.
2fem.pl.: See below on 3fem.pl.
3masc.pl.: In OA always found in the defective spelling. The Tell Fekheriye inscription does not attest the long form of the prefix conjugation with -n. In addition to the spelling -n, IA also attests the plene spelling -wn. The masculine form is also found with feminine subjects in IA.
3fem.pl.: IA has only one form for both indicative and volitive functions.
The vocalization of the afformative -n is uncertain. This -n can reflect /-ān/ or /-na/ or, following Beyer, represent a consonant without a vowel (/-n/ < */-na/; see ATTM 1: 82, 147). If the reconstruction with-out a vowel is correct, then the form /-ān/ in Middle Aramaic has developed through analogy with the afformative /-ā/ of the 3fem.
pl. perfect (ATTM 1: 147). Muraoka, on the other hand, posits that Table 6. Imperial Aramaic preformatives and afformatives of the imperfecta
Person Preformative Long-imperfect
afformative Short-imperfect
afformative
sg. 1 ʾ- -Ø ʾktb -Ø ʾktb
2masc. t- -Ø tktb -Ø tktb
2fem. t- -n /-īn/ tktbn -y /-ī/ tktby
3masc. y- -Ø yktb -Ø yktb
3fem. t- -Ø tktb -Ø tktb
pl. 1 n- -Ø nktb -Ø nktb
2masc. t- -n /-ūn/ tktb(w)n -w /-ū/ tktbw
2fem. t- -n /-ān/ tktbn -n /-ān/ tktbn
3masc. y- -n /-ūn/ yktb(w)n -w /-ū/ yktbw
3fem. y- -n /-ān/ yktbn -n /-ān/ yktbn
aExemplified with ktb ‘to write’.
the afformative was /-na/ in IA. He bases his hypothesis on the voli-tive form thytn in IA (TAD A2 5:5, HP; 2fem.pl. impf. Afʿel of ʾty
‘to come’, without consonantal y as in lhwyn lεhεwyān in Dan 5:17).
An afformative /-ān/ for this form would be surprising, since one
An afformative /-ān/ for this form would be surprising, since one